“Some say the world will end in fire,” wrote the poet Robert Frost -- and for much of 2021, photographers captured scenes of a world ablaze, amid rumblings of ruin.
In New Delhi, a man sprints amid the funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims -- too many fires, too much heat, too many victims. On a beach near the village of Limni, Greece, the horizon is lit by the flames of wildfires raging across the eastern Mediterranean.
And at La Palma in the Canary Islands, the inferno is in the Cumbre Vieja volcano. But more than 10,000 million cubic meters of ash turn the world into a negative, with black ash taking the place of white snow.
Not all of the combustion is so literal.
![Yohaness, from Eritrea, prays with other migrants as they arrive at the coast of Italy aboard the Spanish vessel Open Arms, on Jan. 4, 2021, after being rescued in the Mediterranean sea.
Photo: AP]()
Yohaness, from Eritrea, prays with other migrants as they arrive at the coast of Italy aboard the Spanish vessel Open Arms, on Jan. 4, 2021, after being rescued in the Mediterranean sea.
Photo: AP
![A voodoo pilgrim bathes in a waterfall believed to have purifying powers during an annual celebration in Saut d' Eau, Haiti, on July 16, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A voodoo pilgrim bathes in a waterfall believed to have purifying powers during an annual celebration in Saut d' Eau, Haiti, on July 16, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Yemeni fighters backed by the Saudi-led coalition ride on the back of an armored vehicle as they leave the front lines of Marib, Yemen, on June 19, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Yemeni fighters backed by the Saudi-led coalition ride on the back of an armored vehicle as they leave the front lines of Marib, Yemen, on June 19, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Demonstrators attack a barricade protecting Mexico City's National Palace during a march to commemorate International Women's Day and protest against gender violence, on March 8, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Demonstrators attack a barricade protecting Mexico City's National Palace during a march to commemorate International Women's Day and protest against gender violence, on March 8, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Shredded trees and the shells of homes lie half buried in mud near the Taal volcano almost a year after it erupted in Batangas province, a popular tourist destination just south of Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 10, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Shredded trees and the shells of homes lie half buried in mud near the Taal volcano almost a year after it erupted in Batangas province, a popular tourist destination just south of Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 10, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A migrant is comforted by a member of the Spanish Red Cross at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta near the border of Morocco and Spain, on May 18, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A migrant is comforted by a member of the Spanish Red Cross at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta near the border of Morocco and Spain, on May 18, 2021.
Photo: AP
![People cry out as the body of their relative is recovered from the rubble of a building damaged by an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Jan. 15, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
People cry out as the body of their relative is recovered from the rubble of a building damaged by an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Jan. 15, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A farmer smokes a bidi, or hand-rolled cigarette, during a tractor rally to protest new farm laws in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on Jan. 7, 2021
Photo: AP]()
A farmer smokes a bidi, or hand-rolled cigarette, during a tractor rally to protest new farm laws in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on Jan. 7, 2021
Photo: AP
![Honduran migrants clash with Guatemalan soldiers in Vado Hondo, Guatemala, on Jan. 17, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Honduran migrants clash with Guatemalan soldiers in Vado Hondo, Guatemala, on Jan. 17, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Health care worker Nazir Ahmed carries a cooler with vaccines and looks out from a hillock for Kashmiri shepherds to vaccinate in Tosamaidan, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on June 21, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Health care worker Nazir Ahmed carries a cooler with vaccines and looks out from a hillock for Kashmiri shepherds to vaccinate in Tosamaidan, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on June 21, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A house is covered by ash from a volcano that continues to erupt on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands on Oct. 30, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A house is covered by ash from a volcano that continues to erupt on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands on Oct. 30, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Plastic bottles and other garbage float in Potpecko lake near Priboj, in southwest Serbia, on Jan. 22, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Plastic bottles and other garbage float in Potpecko lake near Priboj, in southwest Serbia, on Jan. 22, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Migrants and refugees of various African nationalities wait for assistance aboard an overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean Sea 122 miles off the coast of Libya as aid workers on the Spanish search and rescue vessel Open Arms approach on Feb. 12, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Migrants and refugees of various African nationalities wait for assistance aboard an overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean Sea 122 miles off the coast of Libya as aid workers on the Spanish search and rescue vessel Open Arms approach on Feb. 12, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A health worker prepares Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City, Philippines, on Nov. 17, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A health worker prepares Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City, Philippines, on Nov. 17, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A train passes a railroad crossing that is surrounded by floodwaters from rain and melting snow in Nidderau near Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 3, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A train passes a railroad crossing that is surrounded by floodwaters from rain and melting snow in Nidderau near Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 3, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Mahavir Singh, 90, stands for a photograph as he participates in a protest against new farm laws at the border of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh states in India, on Jan. 8, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Mahavir Singh, 90, stands for a photograph as he participates in a protest against new farm laws at the border of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh states in India, on Jan. 8, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Cracked mud stretches out across a vast area once covered by the waters of the Suesca lagoon, in Suesca, Colombia, on Feb. 17, 2021. The lake, once teeming with fish, is drying up due to the effects of climate change.
Photo: AP]()
Cracked mud stretches out across a vast area once covered by the waters of the Suesca lagoon, in Suesca, Colombia, on Feb. 17, 2021. The lake, once teeming with fish, is drying up due to the effects of climate change.
Photo: AP
![Nepalese supporters of the splinter group in the governing Nepal Communist Party celebrate on Feb. 23, 2021, in Kathmandu after the Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Parliament, which had been dissolved by the prime minister.
Photo: AP]()
Nepalese supporters of the splinter group in the governing Nepal Communist Party celebrate on Feb. 23, 2021, in Kathmandu after the Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Parliament, which had been dissolved by the prime minister.
Photo: AP
![Police beat a woman participating in a protest against the death in prison of Mushtaq Ahmed, a writer who was arrested on charges of violating a sweeping digital security law, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 26, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Police beat a woman participating in a protest against the death in prison of Mushtaq Ahmed, a writer who was arrested on charges of violating a sweeping digital security law, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 26, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Kashmiri men row their raft made of plastic pipes on Dal Lake on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, after a brief spell of fresh snowfall, on Feb. 27, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Kashmiri men row their raft made of plastic pipes on Dal Lake on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, after a brief spell of fresh snowfall, on Feb. 27, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Stephen Mudoga, 12, tries to chase away a swarm of locusts on his farm as he returns home from school, at Elburgon, in Nakuru county, Kenya, on March 17, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Stephen Mudoga, 12, tries to chase away a swarm of locusts on his farm as he returns home from school, at Elburgon, in Nakuru county, Kenya, on March 17, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A homeless person sits inside an abandoned building in Quito, Ecuador, on March 18, 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: AP]()
A homeless person sits inside an abandoned building in Quito, Ecuador, on March 18, 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: AP
![Laila poses for a photo on Sept. 27, 2021, as she plays in a poor neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, where hundreds of internally displaced people from the eastern part of the country have been living for years.
Photo: AP]()
Laila poses for a photo on Sept. 27, 2021, as she plays in a poor neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, where hundreds of internally displaced people from the eastern part of the country have been living for years.
Photo: AP
![Jen Ho Lee, a 76-year-old South Korean immigrant, poses in her apartment in Los Angeles on March 31, 2021, with a sign from a recent rally she attended in Koreatown against anti-Asian hate crimes.
Photo: AP]()
Jen Ho Lee, a 76-year-old South Korean immigrant, poses in her apartment in Los Angeles on March 31, 2021, with a sign from a recent rally she attended in Koreatown against anti-Asian hate crimes.
Photo: AP
![With the aid of a flashlight and a kerosene flame, 12-year-old Zairi Olivia, a member of the evangelical Christian sect Israelites of the New Universal Pact, looks at The Children's Illustrated Bible in her house in Jose Carlos Mariategui, Peru, a village in the Amazon rainforest, on March 31, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
With the aid of a flashlight and a kerosene flame, 12-year-old Zairi Olivia, a member of the evangelical Christian sect Israelites of the New Universal Pact, looks at The Children's Illustrated Bible in her house in Jose Carlos Mariategui, Peru, a village in the Amazon rainforest, on March 31, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A man runs to escape the heat from multiple funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims at a crematorium on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on April 29, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A man runs to escape the heat from multiple funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims at a crematorium on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on April 29, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Military police officer Everaldo Pinto, dressed as superhero Captain America, greets children and encourages them to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on April 15, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Military police officer Everaldo Pinto, dressed as superhero Captain America, greets children and encourages them to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on April 15, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A man lies on the beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Africa after swimming there from Morocco on May 18, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A man lies on the beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Africa after swimming there from Morocco on May 18, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A blast from an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza City throws dust and debris on May 13, 2021, as Hamas and Israel traded more rockets and airstrikes and Jewish-Arab violence raged across Israel at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Photo: AP]()
A blast from an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza City throws dust and debris on May 13, 2021, as Hamas and Israel traded more rockets and airstrikes and Jewish-Arab violence raged across Israel at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Photo: AP
![River herring, also known as alewives, swim in a stream on May 16, 2021, in Franklin, Maine. The fish were once headed for the endangered species list but have been making a comeback in some U.S. states.
Photo: AP]()
River herring, also known as alewives, swim in a stream on May 16, 2021, in Franklin, Maine. The fish were once headed for the endangered species list but have been making a comeback in some U.S. states.
Photo: AP
![Men carry a dead child pulled from the rubble of a destroyed residential building in Gaza City following Israeli airstrikes on May 16, 2021, that flattened three buildings and killed at least two dozen people, according to medics.
Photo: AP]()
Men carry a dead child pulled from the rubble of a destroyed residential building in Gaza City following Israeli airstrikes on May 16, 2021, that flattened three buildings and killed at least two dozen people, according to medics.
Photo: AP
![A wood frog looks out from the clover in East Waterford, Pa., on June 6, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A wood frog looks out from the clover in East Waterford, Pa., on June 6, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Performers dressed as rescue workers gather around the Communist Party flag during a gala show ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, on June 28, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Performers dressed as rescue workers gather around the Communist Party flag during a gala show ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, on June 28, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Birds fly over a man taking photos of the exposed riverbed of the Old Parana River, a tributary of the Parana River, during a drought in Rosario, Argentina, on July 29, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Birds fly over a man taking photos of the exposed riverbed of the Old Parana River, a tributary of the Parana River, during a drought in Rosario, Argentina, on July 29, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Perito Moreno Glacier stands in Los Glaciares National Park near El Calafate, Argentina, on Nov. 2, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Perito Moreno Glacier stands in Los Glaciares National Park near El Calafate, Argentina, on Nov. 2, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A home is engulfed in flames as the Dixie fire rages south of Janesville in Northern California, on Aug. 16, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A home is engulfed in flames as the Dixie fire rages south of Janesville in Northern California, on Aug. 16, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Guan Chenchen, of China, performs on the balance beam to win the gold medal during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 3, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Guan Chenchen, of China, performs on the balance beam to win the gold medal during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 3, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A model waits to have her headdress removed after a presentation of the William Zhang collection by designer Hongwei Zhang during the China Fashion Week in Beijing, on Sept. 8, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A model waits to have her headdress removed after a presentation of the William Zhang collection by designer Hongwei Zhang during the China Fashion Week in Beijing, on Sept. 8, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield walks into the ring for his boxing match against former MMA star Vitor Belfort on Sept. 11, 2021, in Hollywood, Fla.
Photo: AP]()
Former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield walks into the ring for his boxing match against former MMA star Vitor Belfort on Sept. 11, 2021, in Hollywood, Fla.
Photo: AP
![A man climbs a steep ridge with a basket of coal scavenged from a mine near Dhanbad, India, in the eastern state of Jharkhand, on Sept. 24, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A man climbs a steep ridge with a basket of coal scavenged from a mine near Dhanbad, India, in the eastern state of Jharkhand, on Sept. 24, 2021.
Photo: AP
![Sofia cradles her 2-month-old baby, Abdul, as he undergoes treatment at the malnutrition ward of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Oct. 5, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
Sofia cradles her 2-month-old baby, Abdul, as he undergoes treatment at the malnutrition ward of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Oct. 5, 2021.
Photo: AP
![A penguin swims in an enclosure housing gentoo and chinstrap penguins at Mexico City's Inbursa Aquarium on Jan. 13, 2021.
Photo: AP]()
A penguin swims in an enclosure housing gentoo and chinstrap penguins at Mexico City's Inbursa Aquarium on Jan. 13, 2021.
Photo: AP
Robert Frost
poet
COVID-19 victims
Cumbre Vieja volcano
funeral pyres
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